Praises

In October 2009 my husband was fired from his job for $8. He worked for Wal Mart and had compassion upon a customer that was just short of having the money to buy a much needed car battery. Instead of purchasing the battery outright and then having the customer reimburse him, my husband used his employee discount card to bring down the price of the battery and was summarily fired. Since that time, except for part time minimum wage positions, he has not had a job. Yet will I praise the Lord!

In September 2010, due to the circumstances in the church I served as pastor, it became apparent that the best thing for all concerned was for me to resign. Since March I have only worked at a part time minimum wage job myself. Yet will I praise God!

In December 2010, we moved into my sister's three bedroom home because we did not have any place else to go. So technically, my family is homeless. Yet will I lift up my praises to God Almighty!

Because of our present financial difficulties, we have had to apply for and become recipients of food stamps, we visit food pantries regularly, and recently I have had to humble myself in asking for further financial assistance to cover our bills. Yet will God receive my praises!

In April, our younger daughter was caught in the monster tornado that ripped through Tuscaloosa, Alabama. You had better believe I was praising God for keeping her safe.

One of the results of the tornado was that my daughter's car had its back window blown out, the windshield was cracked in various places and it received so much hail damage that the insurance company totaled the vehicle. We opted to keep the car as our daughter still needed it for school. Yet will I praise God.

In June, on the way to take our other daughter to the doctor, the back passenger window in our van was shot out by a boy playing with a gun. If my husband, who was driving had arrived at that part of the road just an instant later, our daughter would have been injured or killed by the gun shot. Hallelujah I praised God for keeping both my daughter and my husband safe!

When my husband returned to my sister's house to drop off the now damaged van and switch vehicles with our other car, its transmission cable broke and had to be repaired for $600 we still do not have. Yet will I praise God.

We have had to repeatedly apply for assistance from hospitals and prescription companies to keep our health good (my husband has an artificial heart valve that requires he take blood thinners to keep the valve working and I have fibromyalgia.) Yet will my praises be ever sent to God!

Throughout this whole experience I have spent time screaming at God, arguing about how He has promised to take care of my family and myself. But every time I do, God is faithful to do exactly as He has promised. Just because the fulfillment of that promise doesn't look exactly they way that I would like it to look doesn't mean that God is not being faithful to give us what we really need, not what we want. I am learning much about humility and how difficult it is sometimes for others to be in a position to have to repeatedly ask for help, how sometimes it is not the person's fault nor truly the person's choice to be in the circumstances that prompt them to have to ask for help. I pray that this experience will not only improve my Christian walk as I am forced to really and truly rely on God's grace to be sufficient for me and my family, but also that I will learn the compassion that I may have been lacking toward others in my same situation.

I would not wish this situation on anyone else, but I do know that Jesus has said that the poor will be with us always and so there will be those who have to face this. I pray that God will enable me, empower me, and further equip me to be able to minister to others, especially those who are in difficult financial circumstances, in a more Christ like manner so that they too can truthfully say, "Yet will I praise God for all His grace and mercy given to me."